Liberty leave Atlanta mired in timeout controversy, 2-0 semifinal deficit and missed opportunities

· Yahoo Sports

ATLANTA — The physics of a ball shot a millimeter off target flickered hope in the waning seconds of regulation. The New York Liberty came down with it, but their fortune ended there, shining a light on the red herring of a dominant first-round sweep. 

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And then came the combustion of a logistical rules blunder at the end of overtime in critical semifinals Game 2, initially set in motion by Breanna Stewart instead of her head coach. 

The Liberty put Dream forward Angel Reese on the free throw line trailing by one with 4.3 seconds to play, down a game in the best-of-five series. Stewart said that after the first free throw, she asked official Kevin Fahy whether the Liberty had a reset timeout. The TV broadcast caught Stewart turning from the block toward the bench and scorer's table in between Reese's free throws. 

"He said, 'I'm going to check at the table,'" Stewart said after the game. "So then he looked to [head official] Fatou [Cissoko-Stephens], and she said no. So then he told me no, like, we don't."

Leonie Fiebich inbounded to Marine Johannes, who tipped it forward to Stewart. She collected it and tossed up an off-balance 32-footer that landed short. The Dream won 101-98 to put the Liberty on the brink; no team has come back from a 2-0 deficit in WNBA postseason history. 

"Of course, who knows what would happen at the end of the game, but we would have had hopefully a better shot on goal," Stewart said. 

The end of Game 2 was pure confusion for the Liberty, who may be searching for answers for some time.Paras Griffin via Getty Images

Liberty head coach Chris DeMarco said "same thing," that the officials told multiple staffers they didn't have the reset timeout. Dream head coach Karl Smesko said he thought the Liberty had a timeout left, "but they played it out the way they did." Teams receive one reset timeout in the final two minutes of any overtime period, per the rulebook. 

"It is what it is," DeMarco said. "We got to demand more."

The Liberty made an official inquiry to the league regarding the incident, Yahoo Sports confirmed. The official pool report was not conducted inside the arena until two hours after the game ended. Pool reporters submitted specific questions while Stewart, DeMarco and Jonquel Jones were still on the podium. 

Per the pool report, Cissoko-Stephens said there "was no communication with the officials or the team."

"Stewart was standing behind referee Fahy when he confirmed with his partner between Reese's penalty free throws that New York did indeed have a reset timeout remaining," per the pool report. 

"Available timeouts are tracked by scorer's table and statistical staff. Teams are responsible for managing and tracking their timeout usage throughout the game. Officials may confirm the status of timeouts with the table when necessary, but they do not officially track timeouts."

Undoubtedly, the controversy will overshadow the hole the Liberty dug themselves into. 

"I think this sounds like a big drama, but I don't think that's the reason why we lost," Fiebich, who stepped into the starting lineup in the 2024 postseason run, told a small group of reporters outside the locker room. "I think it's, of course, unfortunate, but I think we could have won before that. Didn't let it come that far." 

But had the German national star ever been in such a situation where there was confusion over whether or not there was a timeout? 

"No," Fiebich said. "Never before." 

Serendipity landed in the Liberty's laps over and over again on Wednesday night in Atlanta. Allisha Gray, the Dream's leading scorer, was ruled out the day prior with a hand injury. Stewart, whose perimeter game has faded in recent years, tied a season-high two 3-pointers in the first five minutes. The Liberty's challenge of a sixth foul call on Jones, their 6-foot-9 center, was deemed successful with 4:41 to play. 

The backcourt handled the ball pressure better. They were in it despite still giving up 28 points off 17 turnovers, and nearly setting the record for best field goal percentage in a playoff loss. Marine Fauthoux, a WNBA rookie from France, drained a 3-pointer to tie it with 10.3 seconds on the clock.

And back to that ball off the hands of a driving Rhyne Howard that flat-lined the heartbeats of an entire arena. The leather pinged the back of the basket and rolled around the entire rim. It popped out toward the glass. It sat on the iron. It fell into Jones' waiting hands. 

The buzzer sounded; the basket light flashed. The arena groaned. Five more minutes of life to flip the series and the season. 

The beginning of the end of the Liberty's season might have ultimately hinged on a no-call in transition when Angel Reese grabbed at Breanna Stewart in a five-point game. Or Fauthoux's 25-foot stepback 3 attempt at the end of the shot clock that bounced out in a one-point game. Or the bad-pass turnover by Jones in a three-point game with 2:05 in regulation. 

Sabrina Ionescu told reporters outside the locker room that she told the team the loss was her fault. Fiebich said they all feel the responsibility. 

"I think we all f***** up at some stage throughout the game, especially late," Fiebich said. 

There is no shortage of choices. Not in Game 2 and not season-wide. Talent and past experiences can only take a team so far. For the 2026 New York Liberty, it seems inevitable that the journey stops short of the Finals. Empty possessions at the end, a lead finally in hand, ultimately led to a game that hinged on he-said, she-said.

The Liberty have a roster stacked with talent, boasting the second-most returners of any squad's opening day roster, including four starters who won a championship together two years ago. They are now at risk of being swept in stunning fashion in the WNBA semifinals, led by a first-year head coach who was supposed to take them farther than their first-round exit a year ago. 

Technically, he did. They're still playing, instead of watching the semis from their couches. It's unlikely they'll be saying that much longer. The turnaround is tight. Game 3 is on Friday in New York, where the Liberty believe they can defend their own enthusiastic crowd the way the Dream have done in Atlanta. 

The moment that cracked open the controversy will be what lingers. The Liberty are squandering another all-time great, MVP-caliber season by Stewart, an illustrious winner fresh off a fourth FIBA World Cup championship. 

"It's so many, so many plays that kind of led to this, but…" Stewart said in response to the first question of the postgame press conference. One of the league's greatest players stopped speaking, turned to her right, and stared at her first-time head coach. 

"Am I the one saying it?" Stewart asked, pointing at herself before turning to DeMarco beside her. "Or you?" 

"What's that?" the longtime NBA assistant coach answered with a slight shrug. Stewart took a quick, deep breath, flipped her hand upward, turned back to the mic, and once again this lost season took the lead. 

"This is not blaming the refs, but when I ask both refs if we have a reset timeout at the end, and they tell us no, and then we leave the game with a reset timeout, it's pretty frustrating," Stewart said, clearly carrying over the feeling to the postgame podium. 

At the other end of the short table sat Jones. DeMarco, sandwiched between two former MVPs and WNBA champions, sat unemotive on the brink of elimination. 

"Like, yeah, OK, I kind of got a good look at the end, but would just love to have some clarity on that situation as well," Stewart finished. 

The entire Liberty season could use it.  

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